Monday, 12 April 2010

Can We Stop Calling Them 'Charities' Now..?

Well, with the usual suspects clamouring for more regulation of mobility scooters, at least the disabled can count on their disability groups to fight their corner and argue that their lives don’t need yet more regulation and unnecessary government paperwork to compl…

Oh:

A disabled charity in Essex has welcomed calls to consider a mobility scooter driving test.

Has he, indeed?

Richard Boyd, chairman of Disability Essex, said he was glad a group of MPs looking into the safety around mobility scooters said a fit-to-drive test had to be considered.

Really?

Well, he’d know, I suppose. Being ‘in the business’, so to speak…

Mr Boyd said: “This is long overdue and we have been pointing out the dangers since 2004. The number of accidents is under reported.

“These are wonderful devices that liberate people and give them the freedom and dignity they deserve. But the problem is it’s unregulated and anybody can buy and sell them.”

Hmmm, I’m starting to get a bad feeling about this…

Other actions Mr Boyd said were necessary were to make sure mobility scooters were covered by insurance policies, and regular checks of the vehicles’ road worthiness.

Disability Essex remains concerned at lack of regulation for users of mobility scooters. Following a recent accident in the Southend area, Chief Executive Richard Boyd reflected that this was not an uncommon event.

‘The current regulations, or to be more exact, the chaos of lack of cohesive regulation, have featured in the media for many years.

Many scooter drivers carry no specific insurance, are not tested before they drive and the vehicles are subject to no regular checks.

We have suggested to the Government some simple cost effective solutions:

All scooters should be registered (in actual fact some classes are required to register with Swansea but no-one enforces it).

All drivers should have a permit to drive and the testing should be done by qualified registered charities.

All drivers should carry insurance, not just for themselves, but for the people who may be injured by them.

Scooters should be checked by qualified registered charities.

The result would be safer drivers, safer pedestrians, better equipment, and a quality service provided by the voluntary sector at a fraction of the cost of further Government administration.’

Now, maybe I’m being, to coin a phrase, uncharitable, but why, exactly, should we pay attention to someone who is lobbying the government to introduce legislation that his own organisation would benefit from?

Has Mr Boyd actually considered the needs and desires of the people he claims to represent? Or is he simply hoping to add to the list of training courses (with eye-watering prices) his organisation offers?

There’s a tendency for people to view charity spokesmen as fearless guardians, speaking up for the powerless. These days, it seems they have the same sort of relationship to their audience as a farmer has to his cattle…..

8 comments:

I think it might just gradually dawn on people that quite a few charities are in fact businesses - and that others are fed money by Ministers keen to have bodies that are "nothing to do with them" happily taking the dosh and feeding back opionions that amazingly chime exactly with intended government policy - to pick on two areas at random (not!) where I really really get annoyed is the contunied funnelling of cash to "anti-smoking" and "anti-alcohol" "charities" - successive governments have made it clear enough - they don't like either smoking or drinking (but love the duties they generate) and we've got the message, honestly we have, we are beyond the pale and have no place in polite society if we smoke or drink, ok - so how about cutting off the cash-lifelines to these hectoring, self-righteous, controlling bas .. I have no objection to anyone being righteous and telling me about it - I can walk away and ignore them, after all - but when theyt use my money to fund lecturing me - that is an insult !

"There’s a tendency for people to view charity spokesmen as fearless guardians, speaking up for the powerless."

Not a view I've held for an awful long time.

Modern day Highway Men meets job creation scheme. Self interested non-productive busybodies and fatcats. Most enjoying the double delights of spending huge amounts of tax payers money while exempt from contributing to the same funds.

Funny old world isn't it? Running a drugs charity is more lucrative than dealing in the drugs themselves.

I wonder if people will one day be unable to walk the pavements unless the AA give out a permit... to prevent accidents over uneven surfaces of course.

Anon - you may be joking but, under at least one health authority, those needing a walking frame from the NHS aren't allowed out with it until they've had official training (for which, naturally, there is a waiting list).